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J:AF

East Africa

The Islamic religion first appeared in East Africa

during the lifetime of mUhammad (ca. 510–632),

when he sent some of his followers to Abyssinia

(in modern Ethiopia) in order to escape Meccan

persecution. By the 10th century, Muslim mer-

chants had introduced their faith into Somalia.

During the next 500 years, Muslims carried their

religion down the East African coast along the

trade routes. Muslim communities were estab-

lished in many of the trading towns along the

coast and on several nearby islands. Because of

their involvement in international trade, coastal

Islamic communities often included Muslims

of Arab, Persian, and South Asian origin who

belonged to Shafii, Ibadi, Shii, and several other

Islamic groups.

Prior to the modern era, East African Islam

was mostly limited to the coast due to its associa-

tion with Muslim merchants, who did not tend to

travel inland. This limitation did not apply to the

northeastern regions, where small Muslim prin-

cipalities arose as buffer states between Muslim

Egypt and Christian Ethiopia, and in the region

of the modern nation of sUdan, where the sultan-

ates of Wadai, Dar Fur, and Sinnar held sway. In

these areas, Islam became the religion of the rul-

ing class but spread more slowly among common

people, who also clung to pre-Islamic practices.

Increasing ties with the Middle East and the rising

influence of Sufi orders led to a more widespread

Islamic adherence by people of the region between

the 16th and 18th centuries.

European colonial powers began to exert their

influence with the arrival of the Portuguese on the

East African coast during the 16th century. Portu-

guese support for Christians in the region led to

increased tensions with the Muslims. This situa-

tion was exacerbated by the triumph of European

colonialism at the end of the 19th century. Colo-

nial rule actually served to spread Islam through-

out societies in which Muslim communities had

predated colonialism. Europeans extended trade

into the interior, opening new fields for Islamic

expansion. They also promoted Muslims into

positions of influence and created urban condi-

tions that favored the spread of Islam. However,

in areas that had been largely untouched by Islam

prior to the colonial era, Christian missionaries

experienced considerable success.

As a result, East Africa entered the era of inde-

pendent states as a region divided among Muslim,

Christian, and “traditional,” or indigenous, reli-

gious communities. This has often led to tension

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